Hockey

Several clubs are lurking around Nazem Kadri: is the Habs one of them?
Marc-Olivier Cook
Several clubs are lurking around Nazem Kadri: is the Habs one of them?
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Things are really bad in Calgary. Like, really bad .

The Flames are 2-7-1 and nothing seems to be working for the Alberta club. There are some talented players in the line-up… but the results have been really disappointing there since the start of the season.

As a result, we're starting to hear things about some of the team's players. In fact, it's Nazem Kadri's name that's getting the most attention around the NHL…

Elliotte Friedman talked about it on his podcast: Kadri has a list of 13 teams he doesn't want to be traded to, and several clubs have their noses in the matter.

I wonder if the Canadiens are one of them. Because we know: Kadri plays center, the Habs need a guy who can help there… and the player has proven himself in the past too.

This isn't the first time we've talked about it, either.

This summer, Jimmy Murphy mentioned that the Habs had no interest in the main prospect.

But perhaps the club's vision is different today. We know that the Canadiens wanted to give Kirby Dach a chance to shine this summer… and seeing that he can't necessarily play at the center of a 2nd line right now, and seeing that the club is doing well on the ice, it may change things in the eyes of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton.

There are two things to remember here.

1. The Habs wouldn't be the only club interested in Kadri if this happened. The Flames won't let him go for nothing, and it's likely to be expensive – especially if there starts to be a bidding war for the center forward.

But…

2. But we also know that Kent Hughes won't hesitate to improve his team, andhe's willing to overpay to make it happen. He wants to see his club go to the next level, and perhaps he won't have the choice of overpaying in a transaction to accomplish his goal.

On paper, Kadri has what it takes to help the Canadiens. He's physical, he's got a nice offensive touch to his game, he's capable of playing in the top-6… And he'd also solve the team's center problem.

Maybe it's the player's contract that's scary, though. Kadri is in the fourth year (of seven) of a deal that pays him $7 million a season…


Overtime

– The Islanders are likely to be busy at the trade deadline.

– I love this.

– Yeah!

– So much the better if he's doing well.

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